Young Joseph
Introduction Joseph Joestar (ジョセフ・ジョースター Josefu Jōsutā) ''also known as '''Jojo,' is the main protagonist of Battle Tendency, a core ally in Stardust Crusaders, being a grandfather of the story's main protagonist, Jotaro Kujo. The younger version of Joseph is one of the hidden characters in the game. According to the game's Story Mode, a missed opportunity in the manga, Alessi uses his Stand to de-age Joseph, however, instead of becoming a child, he becomes a young man in his prime. Young Joseph (Youngseph for short) does not have a Stand yet, instead, he uses his Hamon based attacks and signature Clackers, making a lot of references to the part 2 of the main story. Also, unlike his older version, he is more of a zoning type character with some better rushdown tools, allowing for a more careless playstyle. Pros and Cons + Strong pressure tools + Amazing jump-in attacks + Simple combos + Can set his unblockable Super to hit certain character for high damage in a combo + Can run instead of dash, this also gives him instant run cancels - Passive Stand character (technically no Stand at all) - Gains a lot of super meter but has little to no use from it - Very situational combos that either require very tight timing or projectile attacks - All projectile attacks have very long windups - Slowest recovery in the game Movelist Normals 5A - Simple jab. Can combo into 5A, 5B, and 5C for a full combo. Rather short hitbox but useful as an anti-air. Misses some crouching characters. 5B - Long punch. Long horizontal range and it comes out quick. Misses some crouching characters. 5C - A far-reaching kick. Similar range to 5B but slightly slower. Useful as a late anti-air. Use this instead of 5B in your combos if you are dealing with a low crouching hitbox character. 2A - Low jab. One of the main combo starters 2B - Low kick. Pretty useless compared to its command normal version. Youngseph's fastest normal. Can link into 5B. 2C - Low chop. This move is really useful against low hitbox opponents. There is also a bug with it that will be explained later. j.A - Standard aerial punch. Good for jump-ins but is completely outmatched by j.C in everything except speed, which only really matters against other jumping opponents. j.B - Same as j.A but minimally slower. Does slightly more damage too. j.C - Aerial kick. This move is a great jump in option with a lot of range. Unlike its "Old" version, the kick will stay in place until you touch the ground and not for just a second. Command Normals 6C/4C (Close) - Joseph grabs the opponent and slams 'em in the face with a solid Hamon infused punch. Very basic grab. 6C - Roundhouse kick. Very slow and punishable both on the hit and on block. Cannot be canceled. DO NOT USE. If you want to grab your opponent, use 4C instead so you don't use this attack instead. 3B - Sliding kick. This is your main way of getting in your opponent's face on the ground. Good combo starter. 3C - Knockdown version of 3B. Longer startup time. Useful for okizeme setups. Dashing Normals d.5A/B/C - Dashing version of 6C. Knocks down on hit which makes it somewhat useful during okizeme. Still, unsafe on block. d.2A - Dashing version of 3B. Covers more range with a slightly faster startup. d.2B - Dashing version of 3B. Similar to the A version, this one causes slightly more hitstun and damage for the price of minimally longer startup. d.2C - Launcher version of 3C. Can combo after it hits. Note that if it is used in a longer combo, it will cause hard knockdown instead. Unique Attacks Joseph's Clackers - S''' Joseph takes out his BIG BALLS OF STEEL and smacks the opponent with them. Depending on the direction held while using this move, Young Joseph will perform different attacks. They all count as Special attacks and thus can be used to cancel some normals. All clacker hits are air-unblockable except for the jumping variation. 5S - After a long startup, Joseph smacks the opponent by spinning his clackers several times. Can link off some normals, most importantly 5C. This, along with the fact that it doesn't whiff on crouching opponents makes it the best replacement for Overdrive when dealing with these types of foes. 6S - Joseph performs a multihit uppercut with his clackers. The hitbox is very deceiving and is much smaller in reality, making this move a really bad anti-air. It has also a very long startup time, meaning it won't combo off practically anything. The only plus of this move is that always causes a Stand Crash when it hits. 2S - Multihit knockdown crouching attack. Hits low. Can be linked from 5C/2C. Very useful to setup Stone of Aja super right after it in some matchups. Note that it won't hard knockdown an opponent with their Stand On, making this move rather risky to use. j.S - Similar in appearance to j.A/j.B, Joseph takes out his clackers mid-air and smacks the opponent up to 3 times. Potentially the best move Young Joseph has at his disposal as it can combo after his jumping attacks and you can even combo them. Very useful in combos. 66S - Dashing version of 5S. Has a nearly instant startup and it's safe. Amazing pressure tool that is also a solid anti-air. Great against opponents that rely heavily on jumping. Note that this move cannot be used while running back until you double tap the dash in the opposite way right after the backward run animation ends. Joseph slides backward instead of sliding forward which looks funny. Guard Cancel ''- '''623 + A/B/C '(While Blocking) Joseph uses a slowish version of his Hamon Cola. Potentially the worst Guard Cancel in the game as it has no invincibility frames and takes a while to come out, not to mention its dumb hitbox. Only really useful while blocking certain jump-ins, but he has better tools to deal with it. '''Special Moves Turquoise Blue Overdrive - 236 + A/B/C Joseph takes a deep breath and then cuts through the air with Hamon infused chop. A very simple special for hit-confirms with good horizontal but a horrible vertical range. Useful only to end combos with or deal chip damage to the Stand Gauge. The C version has a much longer startup and cannot combo, however, it does more damage as it hits the opponent 3 times and causes Wall Bounce, it can be recovered from though. Some opponents can duck under it completely. This is your best move to start the round with (unless the opponent has a faster option, like Dio's teleport or Rubber's 6S). Note that the B version has a bit more range than the A version so there's no need to use the first one. Hamon Cola - 623 + A/B/C Joseph grabs a cola bottle and makes it shoot the bottle cap high up. A poor man's dragon punch style attack that doesn't have any invincibility to it. It's really not very useful, but still can be used as an anti-air due to high priority. It can combo off some moves too. While the A and B variants are nearly the same, the C variant is the slowest one for the highest amount of damage, but it's the worst out of the three. This special is a reference to one of the first scenes in Battle Tendency where Joseph does the very same attack to break a policeman's finger before he gets shot. Iron Bowgun - 63214 + A/B/C Joseph grabs a massive crossbow and fires a Hamon infused iron ball from it. Considering its slow startup, the projectile is very basic and doesn't do anything flashy. A version fires a slow projectile, while the B variant fires a faster one. The C variant is the most interesting one, as it makes Joseph fire the ball backward, making it circle around in the air and hit the opponent from behind. This move is a great combo extender but it has a massive flaw. Its startup is insanely long, making it nearly useless in most matchups. It's a reference to one of the scenes in Battle Tendency during which Joseph fights against one of the Pillar Men, Whamuu, and tricks him with this very technique. Clacker Volley -''' 236 + S, 5S, 5S/6S/2S''' Joseph takes out his clackers and starts spinning them, hitting the opponent multiple times. This attack is a three-part rekka style special, with the last third hit being either a launcher (5S), a slowish overhead that has a similar appearance to Joseph's jumping S (6S) or a low attack that causes hard knockdown (2S). Only the launcher finisher does combo with the rest of the rekka, making the 6S and 2S risky tools to use. 6S is very slow and easy to predict or block, however, if it connects with a crouching opponent, in some cases, you can combo after it. 2S is much faster than 6S but still does not combo. It is useful due to the hard knockdown. 5S always causes a Stand Crash when it connects, but due to the attack's nature, it can be easily recovered from and punished on hit. It is advised you only use this rekka to finish off longer combo chains so that 5S guarantees a hard knockdown instead of a faulty launcher. If you only connect the last hit of the 5S ender, the opponent will be sent flying and they won't be able to tech, setting up a follow up into super (altough this is very unlikely in a real match). Clacker Boomerang - 214 + S The legendary Clacker Boomerang. This dreaded boomerang style projectile is one of Young Joseph's strongest offensive tools. Even though the startup of this attack is somewhat slow, the projectile itself is made of two flying clackers which both deal high damage on hit. If the projectile hits or is blocked by a crouching opponent, only one part of the clacker will affect them while the other one will fly right behind them until it meets with a corner and then go back, making it a very tricky thing. If the projectile hits a standing target, both parts will stop. If it misses completely... both parts will fly back. Truly a nightmare to deal with once they're out in the field. Super Moves Unforgettable Memories - 236 + AA Joseph will uppercut the enemy and hit him with a Hamon overdrive while yelling Caesar's name and saying "you are still in my heart". Small horizontal hitbox, great vertical one. Hard to combo into, it's mainly used to punish dumb jump-ins. Decent damage. Hamon No Beat! Red Stone Of Aja! - 214 + AA Joseph will take out the Red Stone of Aja and charge it with Hamon energy, creating a beam of energy with great power. A very long startup, but highest damage in the game and unblockable. Can be avoided by some crouching opponents, jumping or rolling. Can be used to punish some moves (example: road roller) and can even be set up against several characters in a combo! Combos Basic Combos A lot of these combos can be done from j.A/j.B/j.C/j.S. any jumping normal xx j.S - It can combo while hitting opponent midair and on the ground. any jumping normal xx j.S, 5B xx 236+A/B - Requires you to learn the proper timing of j.S. any jumping normal xx j.S, 5B xx 236+S>5S>5S - Same as above but with rekka as the finisher. 2A, 2A, 5B xx 236+A/B - Crouching jabs into standing jab into Overdrive. Joseph's most basic combo. Add an additional 2A if you feel like it, it might whiff in some situations though. You can use 5A instead of 2A in most of the following combos, but it's much worse range wise. 2A, 2A, 5B xx 236+S>5S>5S - Same as above but with the rekka instead. 2A, 2A, 5C xx 236+A/B - Same as above but with a kick instead. 2A, 2A, 5C xx 236+S>5S>5S - Same as above but with a kick instead. 2A, 5C xx 5S - An alternative combo finisher which works on low hitbox opponents (except stand off Iggy and crouching Devo of course) 2A, 2B, 5B xx 236+A/B - Some hard links into Overdrive. d.2A/2B/2C xx 236+A/B - Dashing slide into Hamon Overdrive. Simple yet effective. d.2A/2B xx 236+S>5S>5S - Dashing slide into Rekka. Doing the rekka like this might leave you open for a punish due to a low amount of hits in a combo. Note that this won't work with the C version of dash slide. 2A, 2A, ID d.2A/B/C xx 236+A/B - Linking crouching jabs into the slide can be quite difficult but it's not impossible. 2A, 2A, ID d.2A/B xx 236+S>5S>5S - Rekka finisher. 5A/2A/2B/3B xx 236+AA - Some super hitconfirms. In some matchups, it can also work off a point blank 5C. 2A, 2A, ID d.2A/B/C xx 236+AA - A longer super combo. Pretty difficult to pull off. Try it with one jab only if you're having trouble. Advanced projectile combos 63214+C, 63214+C, 2A, 5B, 236+A/B, (crossbow hits), d.2B, 236+A/B, (crossbow hits), d.2B, 236+S>5S>5S 63214+C, 2A, 5C, 5S, (crossbow hits), 5B, 236+A/B 63214+C, d.j.C, 2A, 5C, 236+A/B, (crossbow hits), 5B, 236+A/B 63214+C, 63214+C, 236+S>5S (crossbow hits) > 6S, (crossbow hits), 236+S>5S>5S 214+S, d.j.C, 2A, 5C, (boomerang hits), 236+AA 63214+C, d.j.C, j.S, 2C, (crossbow hits), d.j.C, j.S, d.2B, 236+S>5S>5S 63214+C, 2A, 2A, 5C, 236+A/B, d.2B, 236+A/B !SC, d.j.C, j.S, 5C, 236+S>5S>5S Hamon Beat setups Aja setups are combos that let Young Joseph successfully combo into 214+AA. These links are dependent on the opponent’s crouch hitbox and wakeup speed: if the crouch hitbox is too low, the enemy can duck the beam on frame 1 of standing up and if their wakeup speed is too fast, they can roll through it. However, characters have different wakeup speeds, so the fastest ones need more complicated combos. Young Joseph has a few options to knockdown the opponent and cancel into Aja, and I’ll note on which characters they work on: 3C (or j.C j.S d.3C) – Young Joseph and Old Joseph. 2S (or 2S rekka ender with the help of a crossbow shot) – Young Joseph, Old Joseph, Dio, Shadow Dio and Midler. d.3C timed with a crossbow shot – Young Joseph, Old Joseph, Dio, Shadow Dio, Midler, Hol Horse, Hol Horse & Boingo and Polnareff. A playlist of these combos can be found here. General Strategy Young Joseph's footsies consist of fast sprinting, never letting your opponent know what you are going to do next, or letting them know and doing the opposite. If you are 100% sure they can't counter it in some way, always throw a clacker boomerang. This will make the pressure on them consistent since the clacker always returns if it hasn't made contact with the enemy, and even if it was blocked, it'll stay at one corner, which will make them block. While this is happening, you can throw a clacker and then a C crossbow shot to set up the wrap around combo and against some characters, the Hamon Beat setup. Punish dumb jump-ins with 236+AA super. Don't worry about your meter, you'll get plenty for using clacker attacks. BNBs Your main ways to get to the opponent are dashing jumps and your slides. Be careful and don't get cocky using these, since they can be predicted if you don't mix them up. End the respective combos with overdrive, a little trick you can do is do an overdrive right after the combo ending overdrive. Some opponents like to rush at you right after you end the combo, so this will stop them and give you free damage over them! 2C Startup Bug There is a weird bug where if you WON'T hold 2 while using the Heavy attack for longer than a single frame, the move will instantly cancel on its own. While being in the block animation, holding 2 and mashing C will make Joseph instantly cancel the move, allowing you to quickly build up the super gauge. Sadly, considering his Supers are what they are, he won't have much use of this bug. Matchup Strategy Abdul Be sure not to abuse boomerangs, since Abdul has some really good jump-ins and will most likely beat all of your anti-airs, maybe with the exception of the super. Alessi Your slides have priority over most of Sethan's attacks, so be sure to use that even when you are afraid of him attacking. Watch out for the sweep. Young Joseph hates hard knockdown. Black Polnareff Don't jump too often if he has meter, he'll 214+AA super you, and it's unblockable in the air. Abuse projectiles A LOT. If you can bait him into using 214+AA, you can punish it with 236+AA if you have the distance. Chaka Remember that you can counter his A and B rekka finishers with your 236+AA super. Also, counter his hyper hop jump-ins with that super. Devo Devo has a very low hitbox when he's crouching, so be sure NOT to use the following attacks: 5A, 5B, 5C, 6C, 236+A/B/C, and the normal dashing variations. Counter j.C with a super. If he tries to pressure you with stand on puppet normals, use d.2B. Dio Watch out for teleport and don't get predictable when approaching, he might throw knives and get free damage. Hol Horse This matchup is very bad because Youngseph cannot use his projectiles unless he scores a hard knockdown. If Hol knocks you down to the ground it's basically over. Punish air-glass with your jab or Super. Hol & Boingo Similar to the matchup above except Hol is less dangerous up close. Dash into his face and don't let him do anything. Watch out for 2C. Iggy It's nearly impossible to get a full combo against Iggy due to its very low hitbox in Stand Off. Your 2C will prioritize over most of his Stand Off normals. All of your standing normals and every special except for the uppercut can be ducked by Iggy. Even the first hit of 236+S can be ducked by him. However, there is a special that becomes incredibly useful against Iggy in this matchup. The C variant of the crossbow now hits much lower than normal, hitting Iggy no problem while he's on the ground level, making it insanely useful during this matchup. Also, whenever you have clackers anywhere nearby Iggy, using a regular grab on him will make him eat them all for bonus damage. Joseph Stone of Aja setups also work against him. This match is very one-sided as Young Joseph has stronger normals and specials compared to his older version. Jotaro Watch out whenever Jotaro has super meter as he can easily punish most of your attempts at throwing projectiles. Kakyoin Kakyoin can easily evade most of your attacks while crouching. Trying to toss any projectiles is a guaranteed suicide as Kakyoin can punish you with his emerald splash. Try to Stand Crash Kakyoin and land a hard knockdown, then set your projectile game. Also baiting out nets with empty jumps or running in and out helps to mess him up. Khan 5B will miss on Khan, so don't use it in your combos. Remember you can punish his 236+AA with 214+AA Mariah Keep tossing your projectiles at her. This will force Mariah to fight up close. Just watch out for her quick jabs. Midler Midler can punish your projectile tossing attempts with Dinner Time or another super/special. Try to fight her up close instead. Baiting her car special will give you enough time to throw a projectile so be sure to do that if you want some pressure to get close. New Kakyoin Same as regular Kakyoin, except he won't set his nets as fast as regular Kakyoin and try to be more offensive. Petshop j.C j.S good luck. Polnareff In this matchup you'll try to not let Polnareff start setting up his attacks. Thankfully he has no attacks that cause Hard Knockdown besides his 236+AA super, so you'll be trying to find an opening in neutral. Polnareff has a lot of tools to stop you, but so do you. If you manage to start setting Clacker Boomerangs on the screen. Only thing can do is either try to poke you with his low stand off normals or enter stand on to protect himself from chip damage. j,C can beat his Shooting Star special attack when done right as it's before to sit on the wall, but once it attacks you, you'll have a hard time stopping the assault from Polnareff (altough maybe you can land a lucky 236+AA as Pol pressures with d.2A) Rubber Soul This matchup is quite similar to Kakyoin's, except in this scenario you need to watch out for his counter special. Don't do fullscreen projectiles when Rubber has meter as it can cost you more than 25% of your health. Shadow Dio Shadow DIO is the king of hard knockdowns, and so, whenever you fall to the ground, he can do literally anything to you he wants. Using fullscreen clacker boomerangs is a terrible idea as he can easily use his book counter to punish you for high damage right after. Vanilla Ice You'll have a lot of opportunities to punish Vanilla's attacks with your uppercut super if he's not careful, however, Ice will most likely just go full Stand Off against you and outplay you with his normals. If he lands a hard knockdown on you, you'll need to perfectly block his oki. When you start throwing projectiles he'll most likely roll his way to you, so be sure to punish with some grabs. You can also punish his teleport with 236+AA as he falls down. Young Joseph A heavily momentum-based match, where one Jojo can often control the flow of a round once he begins. If you predict your opponent will throw a clacker boomerang, you can punish it with a dashing slide into overdrive (or better yet, into super if you are close enough). Joseph's recovery time is slow enough for you to be able to combo into the Stone of Aja super after 2S/3C knockdown. Category:Characters